Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures.
- KJV And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
- BSB Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures.
- NKJV Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.
- NASB Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Apollos, an eloquent and Scripture-rich Jew from Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus.
Overview
Alexandria was a great center of Jewish learning, and Apollos brought both rhetorical skill and deep knowledge of the Scriptures. He would become a significant teacher, later prominent in Corinth (1 Cor. 3:4-6). His introduction sets up a lesson in how even gifted teachers need fuller understanding of the gospel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- 1 Cor 3:5–6Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?
- 1 Cor 4:6Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another.
- Titus 3:13Send Zenas, the lawyer, and Apollos on their journey speedily, that nothing may be lacking for them.
- 1 Cor 16:12Now concerning Apollos, the brother, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brothers; and it was not at all his desire to come now; but he will come when he has an opportunity.
- 1 Cor 1:12Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and, “I follow Christ.”
- Col 3:16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
- Acts 27:6There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us on board.
- Exod 4:10Moses said to Yahweh, “O Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.”
- Acts 6:9But some of those who were of the synagogue called “The Libertines”, and of the Cyrenians, of the Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia arose, disputing with Stephen.
- Isa 3:3the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the skilled craftsman, and the clever enchanter.
- Ezra 7:6this Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to Yahweh his God’s hand on him.
- Luke 24:19He said to them, “What things?” They said to him, “The things concerning Jesus, the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;
- 1 Cor 2:1–2When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
- Ezra 7:12Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the perfect God of heaven. Now
- Acts 7:22Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was mighty in his words and works.
- Matt 13:52He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”
- 2 Cor 10:10For, “His letters”, they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised.”
- Acts 18:28for he powerfully refuted the Jews, publicly showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
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Original language
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